


Scarred Metal

by Quixotic



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Abuse, Alignment Swap, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Autobots Bad, Decepticons Good, M/M, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-13
Updated: 2014-07-13
Packaged: 2018-02-08 17:57:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1950735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quixotic/pseuds/Quixotic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In an universe where the Autobots are the iron fist of the Cybertronian government and the Decepticons are freedom fighters on the run, Starscream finds himself entangled in the life of the rogue Autobot Smokescreen. With Smokescreen on the run from his former leader and the Decepticons under threat of extinction, an understanding of the bonds and betrayals that created the present they live in may be key to rewriting their future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Scarred Metal

**Author's Note:**

> This is an alignment swap AU from Transformers: Prime, but not like Shattered Glass, where everyone just has completely different backstories. Instead, it's the same as canon up until the Council situation back on Cyberton, at which point things start to go screwy, in ways that will be revealed as the fic goes on. In summary, Autobots are the bad guys and Decepticons are good guys, but everyone is still coming from the same roots, and not everything is so black and white.
> 
> Otherwise it is a bunch of Smokescreen/Starscream horseshit. Yes, you heard me.

The first time that Starscream saw the rogue Autobot, it was during a perilously one sided battle for a crashed Decepticon escape pod. On later reflection, he would think of it as a day where absolutely no one got what they wanted. 

Starscream was the first one on the scene, swivelling out of his alt mode and landing with clash of metal against stone. Rising from one knee, he rotated out his blasters before pausing to do anything else. He had beat the Autobots to the prize, but he had also beaten his own backup. His commlink was crackling to life even as he took his initial survey of the scene.

“Ground team to Starscream. I repeat, ground team to Starscream.”

The pod had crashed into a valley thick with earth plant life, and was leaking a veritable river of energon out through the grass. Starscream grimaced, toeing back from the fuel leak cautiously as he made his way to the crash site, his blasters at the ready. Knock Out, on the other side of the commlink, only became more persistent. 

“Shall we assume that your stationary coordinates mean that you've found the pod and are waiting for backup, or that you've been shot from the sky and need a doctor? Because, I'll have you know, I'm equally equipped to-”

“Yes, I hear you,” Starscream hissed impatiently, putting his back to the pod. Still no sign of the Autobots, but he was counting down the seconds. “I have beaten the enemy to the target, and I intend to take advantage of the situation.”

“Far be it from me to cramp your style,” Knock Out replied, the idea that Starscream might have superior style in anything implied as an obvious joke, “but do let me know how you intend to repell the Autobot forces singlehandedly?”

A fair question, but not one Starscream was going to humour right now. Speed was all three steps to his plan right now, and despite the fact that Knock Out was only attempting to offer back up, he found himself resenting every moment of distraction it caused him. He didn't know why Megatron did this – assigning the pair of fourwheelers as his mission support, when waiting for them to catch up by land would only slow him down.

Primus, why hadn't all mechs been born with wings?

“Oh I assure you, I intend to be gone long before they can even lay an optic on-”

Engines roared nearby. Starscream's message ended in a shrill yelp, as he flung himself behind the escape pod, his wings raised in alarm. There was a sharp burst of laughter from Knock Out's side of the commlink.

“Don't wait up, now,” he purred, and the commlink went silent as Starscream swore to himself. He heard the sound of nearby transformations, and if he was honest with himself, he had to admit that taking to the air and leaving the situation behind was a tempting option.

However, being honest with himself was not treat the seeker frequently indulged in. He was just about to take another stab at getting into the escape pod hatch when the Autobots breached the treeline, and Starscream felt his spark grow cold.

Optimus Prime was among his troops.

The massive bot loomed at the head of the pack, the subtleties of his expression lost behind his battle mask, except for the glare of his red optics. His orders were given in a soft growl – too quiet to be easily overheard, but ominous enough in tone alone that it made Starscream feel threatened. 

None of the Decepticons had accounted for this, and he was sure that if Lord Megatron had known, he would have sent more than just the three of them. It was a Decepticon escape pod, not a cargo vessel. Were they really so desperate to extinguish them all that their leader would appear just to stymie a rescue mission? 

Starscream huddled behind the pod as the Autobots began to search the area, contemplating his options. He had seen no sign of potential survivors yet, but it was possible that if there were any, they would still be held in stasis inside. For all he knew, they might not wake up without outside assistance, meaning that if he left now, he would be leaving them to a swift death by Autobot hands.

He briefly paused to consider what Lord Megatron would do. This was, of course, a trick question – the answer to that for just about any situation was that Megatron would charge in cannon blazing and get the job done. Starscream's helm felt overheated just thinking about it, but there was no way he was fleeing now just to go home and tell their leader that he'd left the Decepticon refugee to die. 

He needed to get centered. Step one had been 'go fast', and step two...ah, yes. Go fast.

Starscream filled his vents and then skittered around the side of the pod, continuing to move even as he heard the Autobots spot him. 

“Hey, we gotta 'Con over here!” boomed the voice of one of the Autobot thugs – Bulkhead, he thought. He was wrenching open the door of the pod as he heard the the whine of charging blasters. Please be awake. _Whoever you are, you’d better pray on your wretched spark that you're awake-_

“Got him,” called back another, and Starscream looked back just long enough to see a motorcycle roaring in his direction. He swallowed his yelp and shoved open the door.

The pod was empty. _Scrap._

The next thing Starscream was cognizant of was the Autobot soldier Arcee spring kicking in the back of the head and sending him sprawling into the interior of the pod. And then slamming the door after him. _Double scrap._

Starscream immediately found himself clawing all over the interior of the pod like a cornered animal, already dreading the millions of horrible things that might come next. Would they capture him for interrogation or just execute him here? Some combination of the two?

It was completely typical. He risks his chassis for a stranger, and then said stranger doesn't even exist! There were no words to describe how little he wanted this to be the way he went out, especially after how humiliating that whole getting kicked into the pod thing was in the first place.

He spent the next thirty seconds trapped in there winding himself as tight as a spring. In the end, his near mindless terror was what ended up saving his life. 

The door opened and he launched himself at it without hesitating a moment, and ended up colliding with Optimus Prime face, half transformed and at speed. The Autobot leader, for all his experience, had apparently not been expecting that, and his followers were hesitant to shoot at a target that was literally clambering over their leader's plating. Starscream went head over heads into the dirt, and the very next moment was attempting to transform again with a painful twinge in his transformation cog. He rocketed off the ground as fast as his wings would carry him, but it wasn't fast enough.

Three seconds into his flight, he felt one of his burners explode with enemy blaster fire. He lost control and spiralled into the trees. His landing was extremely painful.

He found himself scrambling in a skid mark of dirt and wooden debris from the trees he'd hit, desperately pinging the comm system for all nearby units to hear.

“I-I'm down! Starscream down! Several Autobots in pursuit – it's a trap!”

He thought it was, anyway. There was no other explanation – Optimus Prime showing up for such a trivial mission, the pod that brought him there being empty. Even if it hadn't been an intentional ambush, it may as well have been, with how outnumbered he was. He had barely hobbled to his feet, trying his best to escape through the trees for a mech whose legs had never been made for running, when he encountered the bot that would make him rexamine his theories. 

“Gotcha,” the Autobot said, swinging out at him from behind a tree with their blaster ready. Starscream fell backwards onto his aft. “Put 'em up, 'Con!”

They were smaller than him, but thicker built – a white land build with red and blue accents. Starscream's first thought was that no mech should be wearing such an idiot grin while sending another to their inevitable death, like having captured a jet with their blasters fried and wings bent was something to be proud of. 

His second thought was to raise his hands, as ordered. His hopes were not high, but if there was a chance that this act of submission might buy him more time – he had no other plans.

The arrival of the other Autobots was what sent his baffled, pained resentment into full blown dread. He cowered as he felt their blasters level on him in unison. The one hesitation was the new arrival – the Autobots seemed just as confused by his presence as Starscream had been. Optimus Prime strode to the from of his group, his optics narrowing dubiously.

“Autobot,” he said to the new arrival, his voice low and cold. “Report.”

“Smokescreen, reporting for duty!” the bot replied, his red optics still alight with...excitement? “Here for five minutes and I've already bagged a 'Con!”

Optimus Prime's optics narrowed further, but in the end he only said, “Indeed.”

“What should we do with Starscream, Prime?” Arcee asked with a particular venom to her words, like she knew exactly what she was hoping her orders would be. Starscream found himself sinking even closer to the ground, even as a knot of guilt spun itself around his spark. All he could hope for now was that the Prime would have the slightest bit of mercy and not hand him over to her before extinguishing his spark. 

Optimus Prime thought for a moment, before making a decision – stomping on Starscream's back, and levelling a blaster at his helm. Starscream yowled as that massive foot all but crushed his wings from their sockets, energon oozing from the cracks in his plating. “He will be executed for his crimes against Cybertron.”

“What – _seriously?_ ” Smokescreen said, his shock finally breaking that gross look of self satisfaction. As if he hadn't expected that Starscream would be murdered here. Hah.

The others ignored him, however. The only dispute was a somehow betrayed look from Arcee as she swiftly came forward.

“Prime, I – let me do it! This scrapper _owes_ it to me for what he did-”

“No,” the Prime growled, harsh and simple. “You will follow my orders, Arcee, or he will not be the only on receiving due punishment.”

Arcee scowled, but returned to formation. 'Smokescreen' was still balking at the situation like a fool.

“You're...not really going to execute him _here_ are you- ?”

Optimus Prime ignored him. Instead, he ground his foot into Starscream's shoulders to the tune of another pained cry and charged his blaster with a sickening whine.

“It is about time you rejoined the Allspark, Starscream,” he said. “Your treason ends here.”

Except, somehow, it didn't. Because within the next two seconds, Optimus Prime was forced to reassess his priorities by the volley of uncoming fire he was being dealt from behind the tree line.

Two engines roared onto the scene – a slick looking red racecar, and a bulkier ATV. The ATV was using its mounted cannon to pepper the assembled Autobots with gunfire. There was the screech of spinning blades and a brief laugh of victory from Knock Out as he outmaneuvered and flanked them. 

Starscream, his entire frame screaming with dysfunction, found himself unable to move until the moment that Breakdown was literally hauling him over a shoulder and changing forms. Knock Out resumed car mode with some fresh energon on his blades, and went spinning off between the trees with an impressive display of dexterity. 

The only Autobot who gave chase was Arcee, whom it took the better part of fifteen minutes to lose. Starscream, humiliated and wrecked, spent the rest of the trip on Breakdown's hood, until Soundwave finally zeroed in on their position and brought them home.

Oddly enough, not the worst day of Starscream's year.


End file.
